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To care for, to protect: Ganawendan and Ganawenim (animate) Recommendations for Indigenous Collections Management City of Toronto Museums & Heritage Services October 2020
“We are currently living in the Seventh Fire, a time when, after a long period of colonialism and cultural loss, a new people, the Oshkimaadiziig, emerge. It is the Oshkimaadiziig whose responsibilities involve reviving our language, philosophies, political and economic traditions, our ways of knowing, and our culture. The foremost responsibility of the “new people” is to pick up those things previous generations have left behind by nurturing relationships with Elders that have not “fallen asleep.” Oshkimaadiziig are responsible for decolonizing, for rebuilding our nations, and for forging new relationships with other nations by returning to original Nishnaabeg visions of peace and justice.” Lighting the Eighth Fire – Leanne Simpson
“We are currently living in the Seventh Fire, a time when, after a long period of colonialism and cultural loss, a new people, the Oshkimaadiziig, emerge. It is the Oshkimaadiziig whose responsibilities involve reviving our language, philosophies, political and economic traditions, our ways of knowing, and our culture. The foremost responsibility of the “new people” is to pick up those things previous generations have left behind by nurturing relationships with Elders that have not “fallen asleep.” Oshkimaadiziig are responsible for decolonizing, for rebuilding our nations, and for forging new relationships with other nations by returning to original Nishnaabeg visions of peace and justice.” Lighting the Eighth Fire – Leanne Simpson
Introduction s a First Nations woman, my lived experience motivates A me to enhance platforms for Indigenous voices, stories and history. As the daughter of a residential school survivor, Indigenous language, voices and ceremonies are the foundations of my worldview and the lens in which I conduct research and my professional work. Building on this foundation, this report and its recommendations will be presented through the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action. In December 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its Report and Calls to Action asserting that education is “key” to reconciliation. The TRC Report expressly endorses improving access to Indigenous worldviews. Calls 67 to 70 focus on Museums and Archives. Call 67 states:
Introduction s a First Nations woman, my lived experience motivates A me to enhance platforms for Indigenous voices, stories and history. As the daughter of a residential school survivor, Indigenous language, voices and ceremonies are the foundations of my worldview and the lens in which I conduct research and my professional work. Building on this foundation, this report and its recommendations will be presented through the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action. In December 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released its Report and Calls to Action asserting that education is “key” to reconciliation. The TRC Report expressly endorses improving access to Indigenous worldviews. Calls 67 to 70 focus on Museums and Archives. Call 67 states: We call upon the federal government to provide funding to the Canadian Museums Association to undertake, in collaboration with Aboriginal peoples, a national review of museum policies and best practices to determine the level of compliance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and to make recommendations. To advance policy changes in City of Toronto Museums & Heritage Services, it is essential to understand that Indigenous Collections Management will require ongoing relationships with Indigenous communities that embody the principle of reciprocity. The outcomes of these relationships can foster an informed approach to the care of the collection and, more importantly, add a rich narrative to the voices of the ancestral objects. 2 The Fife and Drum April 2021
Background Research Museum Objects and Agency Material religion explores what objects do, how they are used and what impact they have. Crispin Paine explains that objects become religious if they are used in a ritual. He argues that these objects have duties and lives that stem from their agency. In her book Naamiwan’s Drum, Maureen Matthews uses Alfred Gell’s Art & Agency as a theoretical approach to repatriation. Matthews states that Gell’s agency theory “is a model that postulates personhood for objects” in a way that is parallel to Ojibwe metaphorical thinking of agency. To further analyze an object’s agency, Matthews richly depicts the history of animacy linguistically, grammatically, and in museums through the story of a drum. Views on animacy can be a pivotal starting point for a decolonizing agenda within museums and for approaching works of reconciliation in accordance with the TRC. In the second museum age, curators must consider the role of the object and not just its physical properties. Through the lens of material religion, Paine argues that “objects have life stories as humans do” and they have duties to perform. Naamiwan’s Drum is a story that can be utilized by museum staff
Background Research Museum Objects and Agency Material religion explores what objects do, how they are used and what impact they have. Crispin Paine explains that objects become religious if they are used in a ritual. He argues that these objects have duties and lives that stem from their agency. In her book Naamiwan’s Drum, Maureen Matthews uses Alfred Gell’s Art & Agency as a theoretical approach to repatriation. Matthews states that Gell’s agency theory “is a model that postulates personhood for objects” in a way that is parallel to Ojibwe metaphorical thinking of agency. To further analyze an object’s agency, Matthews richly depicts the history of animacy linguistically, grammatically, and in museums through the story of a drum. Views on animacy can be a pivotal starting point for a decolonizing agenda within museums and for approaching works of reconciliation in accordance with the TRC. In the second museum age, curators must consider the role of the object and not just its physical properties. Through the lens of material religion, Paine argues that “objects have life stories as humans do” and they have duties to perform. Naamiwan’s Drum is a story that can be utilized by museum staff
Background Research Museum Objects and Agency Material religion explores what objects do, how they are used and what impact they have. Crispin Paine explains that objects become religious if they are used in a ritual. He argues that these objects have duties and lives that stem from their agency. In her book Naamiwan’s Drum, Maureen Matthews uses Alfred Gell’s Art & Agency as a theoretical approach to repatriation. Matthews states that Gell’s agency theory “is a model that postulates personhood for objects” in a way that is parallel to Ojibwe metaphorical thinking of agency. To further analyze an object’s agency, Matthews richly depicts the history of animacy linguistically, grammatically, and in museums through the story of a drum. Views on animacy can be a pivotal starting point for a decolonizing agenda within museums and for approaching works of reconciliation in accordance with the TRC. In the second museum age, curators must consider the role of the object and not just its physical properties. Through the lens of material religion, Paine argues that “objects have life stories as humans do” and they have duties to perform. Naamiwan’s Drum is a story that can be utilized by museum staff A Pickering Iroquoian earthenware vessel dating from about 900 AD. A fine example of the type and time, it was the product of a people in south-central and southeastern Ontario whose experience with agriculture was just beginning. The pot is about 10” high and was found south of Stoney Lake in 1964. MHS 1964.164.4
As the TRC is the framework for this report, reconciliation can be embraced in the process. An essential foundation on the journey towards reconciliation is defined in the Mandate of the TRC: “Reconciliation is about establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and nonAboriginal peoples in this country. In order for that to happen, there has to be awareness of the past, an acknowledgement of the harm that has been inflicted, atonement for the causes, and action to change behaviour.” This report can help facilitate that understanding through the themes and recommendations that follow.
to approach the complexity and personhood of ancestral objects in their collections. The second museum age shows promise of restoring relationships with Indigenous communities by creating exhibitions that are a collaborative project between museum staff and Indigenous communities. Ruth Phillips asserts that these new relationships “must modify the western ideals of open access to objects and information on which public museums were founded, in order to respect other systems of knowledge.” Collaboration will be essential as some artifacts are not meant for public knowledge or display. Communities can help museum staff determine the sacredness and purpose of ceremonial ancestral objects. Another aspect of the second museum age is that objects are being re-evaluated to determine their agency. Collections management is another key aspect of developing a decolonizing agenda within museums. Storage rooms are filled with unique objects that have purpose and spiritual significance. To understand the concept of spirituality, I turn to Cree scholar Blair Stonechild, who states: “Spirituality involves direct engagement and connection with the mysteries of the transcendent.” Stonechild contrasts this definition with religion, which he believes is characterized by written texts that require a mediator to interpret. The potential for ancestral objects to be viewed through an Indigenous worldview that embodies animacy can be a significant contribution to museum studies and practice.
Telling Hard Truths Indigenous scholar Amy Lonetree, in her book Decolonizing Museums, considers some of the challenges museums face when embracing a decolonizing agenda. Most importantly, “a decolonizing museum practice must be in the service of speaking the hard truths of colonialism.” Over a ten-year research process, Lonetree developed a comparative analysis of the Mille Lacs Indian Museum, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian, and the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways, examining how these different museums revealed the violence of colonialism. The hard truth can be uncomfortable and difficult, but as Lonetree reminds us, it can also be healing for Indigenous communities. This debwewin (truth) includes not only stories of genocide, colonization, and discriminatory legislation such as the Indian Act, but also stories of resistance, resurgence and resilience. The City of Toronto’s museums can be sites to facilitate these new narratives through collaborative projects and partnerships.
Recommendations Representing an important step forward in responding to the TRC’s Calls to Action, recommendations have been developed as a living document and roadmap towards decolonizing our sites and collections management. They are outlined here under four key themes: Animate/ Inanimate, Spiritual Care, Repatriation, and Community Relations. Each theme is supported by three recommendations. The implementation of these recommendations will be ongoing and will require further action notably with the Indigenous community. 250 Fort York Blvd, Toronto, Ontario M5V 3K9 info@fortyork.ca www.fortyork.ca
Animate/ Inanimate
Call #3 Physically separate and store Indigenous-related artifacts and archaeological specimens (hereafter referred to as “the Collection”) according to two categories: Animate and Inanimate.
Spiritual Care Call #4 Store for access the Four Sacred Medicines of the Anishinaabe (Sage, Sweetgrass, Cedar and Tobacco) at all Collection sites.
Call #5 Perform an annual Ceremony for the Collection with members of the Midewiwin Society or other Indigenous Spiritual Leaders or Elders.
Repatriation
Call #7 Through the existing partnership with the Midewiwin Society, or with other Indigenous communities as appropriate, repatriate the human remains in the Collection.
The Fife and Drum 3
Call #8 Adopt and support the recommendation of Aanji Bimaadiziwin Circle–The MHS Indigenous Programming Advisory Circle with regards to the process of community relations and repatriation.
Community Relations
Call #8 Adopt and support the recommendation of Aanji Bimaadiziwin Circle–The MHS Indigenous Programming Advisory Circle with regards to the process of community relations and repatriation.
Sources & Further Reading
unacceptable and not an industry standard. Call #11 Work with Partners to establish a process that is accessible, timely and reflective of the work.
Call #12 Hold an annual event for all Community Partners to foster stronger relationships reflective of reciprocal gains.
Audrey Rochette is manager of Indigenous Partnerships & Relationships at Woodsworth College, University of Toronto. When she wrote this paper she was a Business Analyst with the City’s division of Economic Development & Culture. It was prepared under a Museums Assistance Program Grant, financially supported by the Government of Canada.
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